Demographic Winter: A Disaster Movie In the Making

GrasstopsUSA email | October 12, 2011 | Don Feder

[Lurker]

And you had a responsibility to God, who created you and made procreation the first commandment.

Actually that would be "Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Before Me."

[PapaNew]

Well, that about sums it up.

[bicyclerepair]

My first-born was kidnapped and taken to Mass. and raised a flaming liberal by her Moron-Mother. But I was 20, young, dumb and full of something.

[se_ohio_young_conservative]

As a 25 year old father of twin daughters who will turn 3 in December, I blame this garbage on the false secular idea that a baby is somehow a burden. It infuriates me that so many people think this. The girls are the greatest thing that ever happened us (my wife and I)..

My wife works a stressfull job as an ER RN, but she is an amazing mom and wife. I wish I had her energy and optimism..but she is living proof that women even in their 20s can be great mothers.

and we are not finished at 2..just waiting awhile

[central_va]

India, North Africa, and South America haven’t got the memo yet.

[hinckley buzzard]

I'm surprised Feder could talk about the 1960's and birthrate decline without mentioning "The Population Bomb" and the concerted efforts to get people to voluntarily curb their birthrates. He also neglects the universal effect of economic advancement on declines in births. It hasn't all been mere hedonism.

In any case, I am skeptical that a continually increasing population is essential for prosperity, or that the only alternative is an aging population in decline. There is no reason a population can't achieve a steady state, and prosper with advances in technology, efficiency, health and productivity, and changing interests.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Feder mentions Ehrlich and his book near the end of the column.

[Poison Pill]

The roots of Demographic Winter lie in the 1960s.

Baloney. Agrarian societies need more children because in those societies, children are capital. The more industrialized a society becomes, the fewer children are required.

[Publius6961]

It was rather clumsily and ineffectually phrased.

[Secret Agent Man]

I know that the way the courts are so biased against husbands/fathers there’s a lot of guys not wanting to have kids, only to be turned into slaves for the ex and have the state consider them de facto criminals.

[jobim]

Watch the documentary Demographic Winter on youtube in I think 9 parts. Covers much of what is here, and a whole lot more, with charts & graphs and tangible illustrations.

A finding of these demographers is that our economic downturn in 2008/9 is directly linked to population decline, and as such cannot be reversed. People spend at their peak in their 40s, on homes, businesses, kids. And then it drops off drastically, and their money goes into investments, and is in turn borrowed by the next generation coming up. The baby boomers have begun reaching this over-the-spending-hill, and there will not be a comparable younger generation coming up to invest in at the same numbers. Japan's economic downturn preceded ours by 20 years because they did not see a baby boom after WWII, and we are paralleling they're economic malaise. This is something the film makers concluded without having set out to prove this.

[Lurker]

While “go forth and multiply” is indeed found in the Bible, it’s not one of the Commandments. You’d think this guy would have done a bit of research before tossing that out.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

India, North Africa, and South America haven’t got the memo yet.

Yeah, they have. They are producing more children then some other places but the numbers are way down.

And as better medical care means that your child has more then a 25% chance of reaching adulthood the number of children being born declines. Of course, so does the number of children dying.

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

He was probably referring to Genesis 9:7.

[ngat]

“And you had a responsibility to God, who created you and made procreation the first commandment.
Actually that would be “Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Before Me.”

He wasn’t talking about the first commandment of the decalogue, he was talking about Genesis 1:28.

[TexasFreeper2009]

that’s the elephant in the room everyone is too scared to mention.

as the population of the 1st world declines, the population of the 3rd world is skyrocketing... that will be the real problem as those billions try to invade and or take away everything the 1st world has.

[Brian Kopp DPM]

A finding of these demographers is that our economic downturn in 2008/9 is directly linked to population decline, and as such cannot be reversed. People spend at their peak in their 40s, on homes, businesses, kids. And then it drops off drastically, and their money goes into investments, and is in turn borrowed by the next generation coming up. The baby boomers have begun reaching this over-the-spending-hill, and there will not be a comparable younger generation coming up to invest in at the same numbers. Japan's economic downturn preceded ours by 20 years because they did not see a baby boom after WWII, and we are paralleling they're economic malaise. This is something the film makers concluded without having set out to prove this.

Excellent summary.

Despite all the BS of the politically correct class, the progressives and the environmentalists and their enablers in the MSM, the biggest crisis facing mankind at present, and the primary cause of our current economic collapse, is this demographic collapse.

[central_va]

take away everything the 1st world has

Including nuclear weapons and technology.

[fwdude]

While “go forth and multiply” is indeed found in the Bible, it’s not one of the Commandments.

Well, it wasn't a suggestion from God.

Yes, God commanded this from the man and woman. What are you not getting?